English stories 68 the algebra of ice lloyd rose

A genius maths nerd, a weird webzine publisher, and the Doctor’s old ally, the Brigadier find themselves helping the Doctor and Ace solve what should be a simple puzzle: the appearance of a crop circle in the Kentish countryside Hardly uncommon But there are some peculiar features It’s not a circle but a series of square-sided shapes It’s filled with ice And it draws the Doctor and Ace into a confrontation with a reality right next to zero This adventure features the Seventh Doctor and Ace THE ALGEBRA OF ICE LLOYD ROSE DOCTOR WHO: THE ALGEBRA OF ICE Commissioning Editor: Ben Dunn Creative Consultant: Justin Richards Editor: Justin Richards Project Editor: Vicki Vrint Published by BBC Books, BBC Worldwide Ltd, Woodlands, 80 Wood Lane London W12 0TT First published 2004 Copyright c Lloyd Rose 2004 The moral right of the author has been asserted Original series broadcast on the BBC Format c BBC 1963 Doctor Who and TARDIS are trademarks of the BBC ISBN 563 48621 X Cover imaging by Black Sheep, copyright c BBC 2004 Typeset in Garamond by Keystroke, Jacaranda Lodge, Wolverhampton Printed and bound in Great Britain by Mackays of Chatham Cover printed by Belmont Press Ltd, Northampton To Justin Richards CONTENTS Chapter One Chapter Two 15 Chapter Three 24 Chapter Four 32 Chapter Five 41 Chapter Six 49 Chapter Seven 60 Chapter Eight 65 Chapter Nine 77 Chapter Ten 83 Chapter Eleven 90 Chapter Twelve 98 Chapter Thirteen 110 Chapter Fourteen 116 Chapter Fifteen 121 Chapter Sixteen 133 Chapter Seventeen 141 Chapter Eighteen 147 Chapter Nineteen 159 Chapter Twenty 169 Chapter Twenty-one 178 Chapter Twenty-two 184 Chapter Twenty-three 191 Chapter Twenty-four 196 Chapter Twenty-five 203 Chapter Twenty-six 210 Chapter Twenty-seven 219 Chapter Twenty-eight 220 Acknowledgements 226 About the Author 227 CHAPTER ONE ‘You’re doing it again, Professor.’ The Doctor didn’t answer He hadn’t answered all morning, though Ace had asked him at least half a dozen times to please stop it He wasn’t being rude Not exactly He was just in one of those moods, well, states of mind, really, where he didn’t know she was there Probably didn’t know he was there, she thought, watching him at the TARDIS control board Had he been staring at that same screen all morning? She’d sneaked up behind him to have a look over his shoulder at what was so fascinating, but all she’d seen was a jumble of numbers It wouldn’t be so bad if he’d just stop humming ‘Professor!’ No reaction ‘You know what they used to call that? On Earth? A tune stuck in your head was called a “soundworm” Nasty, huh?’ The Doctor turned slowly towards her and blinked ‘Hello, Ace Have you been there long?’ ‘Only all morning.’ ‘Is it still morning?’ Ace wasn’t going to get drawn into another fruitless discussion about what time of day it was in the floating-in-the-timeless-vortex TARDIS ‘And you’ve been humming.’ ‘Humming?’ He looked more surprised than the information warranted ‘Humming what?’ ‘I don’t know I didn’t recognise it.’ He paused delicately, trying to think, she knew, of a polite way to point out that her knowledge of music was limited to about ten years in the late twentieth century ‘It wasn’t even a tune,’ she protested ‘Can you hum it back to me?’ ‘No, ’cos it wasn’t a tune It was just sort of a drone, only with bits of melody in.’ Chapter One ‘Hm.’ He lost interest and turned back to the control board ‘What’s going on, then?’ ‘Oh nothing, really The TARDIS is acting up a bit.’ ‘Oh?’ Ace said hopefully She knew she ought to be worried, but the TARDIS’s acting up generally meant they were in for an interesting trip, not some visit to a green-skied planet containing nothing but weird-looking orange groves Or that naff marmot planet Of course the Doctor had defended the marmots Said they were “humble” ‘What’s it doing then?’ ‘Well, that’s what I’ve been trying to work out She’s been veering subtly off course, and I’ve been stopping her to see what she does next We go on as usual for a bit, then she starts veering again.’ ‘Same direction?’ ‘Not exactly That’s what’s odd I think,’ he mused, ‘I’ll simply let her veer.’ ‘We were just here, Professor.’ ‘Not exactly,’ said the Doctor ‘We will be here.’ ‘When?’ He checked his pocket watch ‘Eighteen minutes.’ Ace shifted from foot to foot, looking around She and the Doctor were in an alley ending at a pair of sagging, chained-together junkyard gates bearing the weathered letters “I M Forman” The Doctor went to the gates and peered between them ‘Same as it ever was,’ she said ‘If we’re coming in 18 minutes, that means that there are already Daleks here So we ought to go.’ He remained at the gate ‘There aren’t any Daleks here,’ he said ‘In this alley at this moment, and there won’t be for a few hours.’ ‘Yeah, well, we don’t want to meet ourselves, we? Doesn’t that mess everything up?’ He didn’t answer ‘What’s so interesting in there, anyway?’ ‘Nothing.’ The Doctor sighed and stepped back ‘I’m just indulging in nostalgia.’ ‘For this place?’ Again, he didn’t answer He was reading the letters on the gates, frowning He read them again ‘That’s not right.’ he muttered ‘Ace – was the name like this before?’ She shrugged ‘I suppose so.’ ‘Well, try to remember It’s important.’ She slouched over to join him ‘Why?’ Chapter Twenty-six 213 She jammed a hand in her pocket ‘You’re lost, you –’ But whatever else she said was lost under the Nitro Nine’s explosion Crouched with her arms over her head, ice pelting her back, Ace wondered if that had been the right move She expected the Doctor to fall on her any minute – what if she’d hurt him? Glancing up cautiously, she saw that he was still perched unconcernedly, polishing something, oblivious to any disturbance Ace looked around the room The thing was gone, but she had no idea whether she’d destroyed it or simply driven it away ‘Professor?’ she called softly She started to climb again Her jaw hurt like hell; the git had a punch on him She’d never let him forget this And if he didn’t even know it had happened, she’d tell him and then never let him forget it Under her bravado, a child’s voice was wailing, ‘He hit me, he hit me!’ She wiped her tears on her sleeve ‘Surprised you’ve got any friends,’ she mumbled ‘More trouble than you’re bloody worth, you are.’ When she came level with him, he smiled at her as though she’d just arrived ‘Hello, Ace How’ve you been?’ ‘Not so good, really.’ She wedged herself into a space between two cogs and watched him He was polishing and cutting and polishing again She remembered a pet mouse she’d had that would pile all its cage shavings in one corner and, when finished, immediately shift them all to another corner, and so on, back and forth It had always looked so purposeful Her voice cracked: ‘Professor ’ ‘Yes?’ he said pleasantly ‘What’ve they done to you?’ ‘I beg your pardon?’ He smiled at her brightly Her stomach clenched ‘Er, look,’ she said carefully, ‘I’m just going to touch your arm now, all right?’ ‘Of course Why shouldn’t it be?’ No reason, she thought, fingering her bruised jaw ‘Right, then.’ She reached over and laid a hand on his busy wrist He smiled indulgently His skin was shockingly cold She took a deep breath ‘You know, there’s bits broken down below You might want to have a look at them.’ ‘In good time,’ he said comfortably His skin was so cold she couldn’t continue to touch it It was stiff too ‘They’re freezing you,’ she said miserably ‘Hm?’ ‘What’s wrong? There was something wrong back in the TARDIS too Ethan knew what it was.’ He had no reaction ‘Can’t you tell me? Don’t you know any more?’ 214 The Algebra of Ice He began to hum Ace put her face in her hands and cried, her tears scalding on her cold palms ‘Oh, Professor ’ He didn’t look round ‘Professor Oh God, Doctor ’ She leaned forward and hugged him He shifted, smiling in embarrassment, but didn’t push her away She was sobbing loudly now ‘Now really Ace,’ he said, kindly but firmly ‘This is a bit much I have work to do, and you’re in the way.’ ‘No ’ She buried her face in the side of his neck, bawling and sniffling In a remote area of her mind, she hoped she wasn’t dripping snot on him Her tears burned ‘Professor no ’ ‘Ace, you’re getting –’ ‘No please This can’t you can’t ’ ‘Can’t what? Really, you’re being ’ He faltered ‘Being ’ She cried helplessly against him ‘Ace, I ’ She pulled back, eyes streaming He looked at her dazedly, touched her face, put his palm against her face ‘You’re so hot Are you all right? Are you feverish?’ Ace sniffed loudly His eyes were dark with concern ‘What is it? Why are you –’ He looked down, gave a little jump, and grabbed onto a lever ‘Where in heaven’s name are we?’ ‘We’re on This is ’ She sniffed again and rubbed her hand irritably across her eyes ‘You built this.’ ‘I never.’ ‘You did.’ ‘No, honestly, Ace, I never had any talent for sculpture I was the despair of my art teach– Hang on.’ He gazed up, then around ‘I remember,’ he murmured, and gripped her arm ‘You shouldn’t be here It’s dangerous You –’ He broke off ‘How did you get here anyway?’ ‘Later, OK? We should go now.’ ‘Go?’ ‘Don’t get all strange again Come on.’ ‘We can’t go,’ he said heavily ‘What are you talking about.’ ‘I had a plan ’ ‘One of those plans that doesn’t work?’ ‘Yes It was meant I wasn’t going to survive it.’ ‘You bastard!’ She tried to hit him but he caught her wrist ‘So I didn’t work out a way back There isn’t one We’re trapped.’ Chapter Twenty-six 215 ‘You bastard!’ She was sobbing again ‘Run off like that Stupid, stupid Well, bollocks.’ She raised her head and wiped her nose ‘No we’re not bloody trapped Not while I still have some Nitro Nine.’ ‘Cor,’ said Molecross ‘Yeah,’ said Ethan They were staring through a large tinted window into the capacitor chamber ‘It’s big,’ said Molecross ‘Very.’ Ethan crossed to the computer and began calling up information Molecross remained at the window, transfixed ‘D’you suppose it’s actually a good idea to release the energy?’ ‘The Doctor programmed it to happen, and I doubt he’d have done anything to harm the TARDIS.’ ‘Where’s he gone, anyway?’ ‘God knows He made it up Hm.’ ‘What?’ ‘The energy was supposed to be focused through a medium into the Doctor’s construct.’ ‘What medium?’ Ethan scrolled down more and more slowly ‘The Doctor.’ ‘Oh no, that’s mad!’ ‘I don’t disagree, but he was going to it He and the TARDIS share an artron field He’d be the barrel for the energy bullet.’ ‘But Ace is in there with him!’ ‘He didn’t plan on that He was just going to blow up and take the aliens with him Nice of him to let us know.’ ‘He was afraid we’d stop him.’ ‘Oh yes, that’s bloody likely Why not stop an electron or two while we’re at it.’ Ethan slammed a hand on the keyboard ‘This is so ballsed up only a genius could have done it.’ ‘We need to get him back.’ ‘Unfortunately, yes.’ ‘Oh, no, no, no, no,’ said Brett ‘Bad idea.’ Molecross jumped Ethan stiffened but didn’t look around ‘Aren’t you supposed to be screwing up the files?’ ‘This is much more interesting Turn and face me, young Amberglass I don’t enjoy looking at your back.’ Ethan turned Brett nodded ‘That’s better Good manners are always in order.’ 216 The Algebra of Ice ‘What you want?’ said Molecross weakly Brett squinted at him ‘Who are you again?’ ‘Adrian Molecross I’m a journalist.’ Brett flinched delicately ‘Not the sort of company I usually keep.’ ‘Stop it with the upper-class snot thing,’ said Ethan, ‘and tell me what you want.’ Brett turned toward the door to the capacitor chamber ‘I want that.’ ‘Then why haven’t you taken it?’ ‘I can’t Though the controls that modify and release it are on line, the energy itself isn’t We could take over the entire TARDIS system and not access it.’ ‘And if you connect with it now, that gives you plenty of power while you’re waiting to harvest the rest of the ship.’ ‘I always said you were clever.’ Brett looked through the window ‘Impressive This whole place is astonishing I’d never have dreamed there was such a thing.’ He shimmered slightly and appeared denser ‘I’ll need a bit of solidity for this.’ Ethan stared ‘Surely you don’t think you can get the capacitor on line by touching it.’ ‘I have no interest in getting the capacitor on line I also contain a code for transforming into a conduit We will tap the energy directly, using it to power its own transfer.’ He turned his head slightly, eyes distant The door’s computerised lock clicked Brett opened it Ethan stood up, he had no idea why He couldn’t think of a damned thing to ‘It will kill you,’ he said inadequately Brett snorted ‘You really haven’t understood, have you? I’m not even alive,’ – and he strolled into the chamber The door began to shut, but Molecross ran and blocked it with his body Inside, Brett approached the capacitor thoughtfully, hands behind his back In the red light, he was reduced to stark contrasts of light and shadow – a figure in a black-and-white film Molecross knew he must be communicating with the others, receiving directions With a grunt, he squeezed through the door It slammed and locked behind him Ace ran over the hills, dragging the Doctor He was disorientated and stumbling, but stayed on his feet until she slipped going downhill and he fell into her They slid to the bottom, and when Ace sat up, the being was looming in front of them Seeing it now, Ace realised there was something familiar about it, though she couldn’t think what ‘No,’ it said ‘The Doctor must stay.’ Chapter Twenty-six 217 Ace grabbed for her Nitro Nine, but the Doctor put his hand on her wrist ‘That’s no use.’ He was lying on his stomach, his hat fallen over his eyes Now he raised the brim and looked steadily at the being It smiled, not quite believing ‘You would fight me on my own ground?’ ‘Ace,’ said the Doctor ‘Don’t watch this.’ ‘But I –’ ‘Don’t watch!’ She turned away and covered her eyes The being remained incredulous ‘Did you learn nothing before?’ ‘Before I wasn’t ready.’ The Doctor stood up ‘Shall we dance?’ Brett looked over at Molecross curiously ‘You can’t stop me.’ ‘I know,’ said Molecross Behind him, Ethan hit the window and slammed it with his fists ‘Unbreakable,’ Brett said ‘Well, it would be, wouldn’t it?’ Molecross approached the capacitor, craning his neck to see the top ‘All of this ’ he said, ‘I never thought I’d see it I was certain it existed, but I’d never see it.’ ‘Then this is a touching moment.’ ‘I’ve experienced wonders now,’ Molecross confided ‘Very nice for you.’ ‘So what’s going to happen? Will a ray shoot through you?’ ‘Put crudely, yes.’ ‘Won’t it destroy the TARDIS systems?’ ‘No I’ve set all the infiltration programs in motion and disconnected.’ Molecross nodded seriously ‘Wonders,’ he repeated ‘I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to continue this fascinating conversation I have work to do.’ Brett shut his eyes and his head fell back His form shimmered Connection established, thought Molecross Absurdly happy, he stepped between Brett and the capacitor As Brett jerked and glared, Molecross threw his arms joyfully around him Then the energy shattered them both to atoms This time, when he was sliced apart, the Doctor refused to be reassembled He willed his spinning self to a still place, and began to translate his thought processes into mathematics Dimly, he felt the being tugging, trying to get hold of 218 The Algebra of Ice his numbers and put them together logically The Doctor thought not He had no wish at all, in fact, to engage it on its own ground That would be suicide Perhaps this was suicide anyway The thing had abruptly surged with power The Doctor fought to stay scattered, but it was pulling him relentlessly, shaping him into a formula it could corrupt He dodged and twisted, felt himself falling into order, set up to be disordered for good – Then its grip loosened The Doctor squirmed free Immediately, he began to shift rapidly in and out of numerical combinations He formed himself into equations that depended for solution on imaginary numbers – that should discourage his opponent And indeed, he felt it reject him like poison No, no: don’t go away Just let me get hold of one little equation, needn’t even be a complicated one – his numbers shifted and regrouped, snatching at the being’s equations No No No Ah! He trapped the string of numbers in parentheses and drew it close This was simple In fact, this was rather fun He understood what Ethan saw in it Although the task was hardly challenging He simply moved a couple of numbers and changed a plus to a minus He snapped back to himself Something had hit him very, very hard Ace was yelling and shaking him ‘Stop that I’m all right.’ She stopped The Doctor opened his eyes and sat up The being was nowhere to be seen ‘It collapsed,’ she gasped ‘Or something.’ The Doctor nodded, drawing deep breaths ‘Imploded Computed to zero.’ ‘What?’ ‘It was made of equations With a few tweaks and additions, you can rearrange any equation so that its answer is zero.’ She sat back, impressed ‘Well brilliant.’ ‘It was rather clever of me,’ he agreed ‘It’s one entity really, so now all of them/it are nothing Not that they were much in the first place They were as close to nil as anything that exists can be.’ CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN The Doctor put up a stone to Molecross next to an ancient church not far from his cottage, then went through his files and distributed them among the subscribers to the Miscellany Afterwards, he visited a certain London alley and regarded with satisfaction the lettering across a pair of junkyard doors: I M FOREMAN The spring thaw exposed Unwin’s body Animals had been at it The village authorities buried him in their paupers’ graveyard Briefed by the Doctor, the Brigadier wrote up his report and sealed it in his most secure file: a hidden safe in the UNIT basement Ace and Ethan said many intimate goodbyes She promised to visit him often and she did, always the same while he grew older, always acting as if she’d seen him only yesterday, which was sometimes the case Their friendship went on for one of her years and four of his, until the day he collapsed CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT What little was left of Ethan’s mind spent its time dozing When awake, in the sense that word could be used, it did something that in a complete brain would have been called dreaming From time to time, a spark of self-consciousness gleamed, but no tinder struck – Ethan vaguely noted his situation, was relieved there was no pain, occasionally wondered where his body was and how it was doing, and then went away Needless to say, there were no visitors Which was why, he thought ironically, he should have expected the Doctor Ethan actually saw him It was the first sharp, stable image he’d seen in well, however long he’d been like this The Doctor’s appearance was – not unexpectedly – what Ethan remembered: the improbably spotless ivory suit, the elegant waistcoat, the absurd hat No umbrella, which was actually a bit of a relief ‘I didn’t think you’d like it,’ said the Doctor ‘You always found it a bit ludicrous, didn’t you?’ ‘Now that there are no secrets between us Are you reading my mind?’ ‘In a way I’m in your mind.’ ‘Oh.’ ‘I realise it’s a bit of an intrusion.’ ‘No,’ said Ethan – if this sort of conversation involved saying anything, which he doubted ‘I’m glad of the company.’ The Doctor looked down ‘No sympathy necessary Sometimes I hear music – you know, the way you can, full orchestra A lot of Bach Mostly, I’m just not here It’s no hardship – a bit like the place between wake and sleeping Hypnapompia Soon to be psychopompia.’ ‘Not that soon, I’m sorry to say.’ Had Ethan shoulders, he would have shrugged ‘It’s not a hardship,’ he repeated ‘Would you like ’ The Doctor hesitated ‘I could arrange for you to experience something like corporeality If you want.’ ‘Why not?’ said Ethan, and found himself standing in front of the Doctor He examined his hands, which looked as they always had, and his feet, which were wearing trainers ‘This is more for your convenience than mine, isn’t it?’ Chapter Twenty-eight 221 ‘Now that there are no secrets between us I confess, I find it difficult to talk to someone who lacks definition Always have It’s a limitation in my line of work.’ ‘Yes,’ Ethan acknowledged The Doctor produced a pair of club chairs – Ethan couldn’t recall if he’d seen something like them at Allen Road – and they sat down ‘Tea?’ said the Doctor ‘Yes, thanks It would be nice to taste something.’ ‘It doesn’t have to be tea Perhaps some nice cheese?’ ‘Tea’s fine for a start.’ ‘Or chocolate?’ ‘Chocolate.’ The chocolate pot appeared, along with mugs and a little table The Doctor poured Ethan had to admit it was extraordinary to taste again Tears pricked at the eyes he didn’t have ‘This might be a mistake.’ ‘No,’ said the Doctor, ‘you’ll remember, but you won’t regret Trust me.’ ‘No choice, is there?’ ‘No.’ The Doctor sipped his own chocolate ‘Are you here – I mean, nearby – or is this some long-distance telepathic thing?’ ‘I’m in your hospital room.’ ‘Where is it?’ ‘I persuaded UNIT to take you in All agreed you were owed it You have a private room –’ ‘So I won’t repel the neighbours.’ ‘– and the best medical care You don’t look repellent A bit wasted, obviously, but otherwise as if you were asleep The nurses shave you.’ ‘Hooked up to an IV?’ The Doctor nodded ‘Actually, your swallowing reflex still works But there’s a danger you might aspirate.’ ‘Can’t have that.’ ‘They are trained not to kill people, you know And it’s not as if you’re being kept alive by machine The only way for you to go would be if they let you starve They won’t that.’ Silence for a bit ‘How long ?’ ‘How long to go or how long has it been?’ ‘To go.’ ‘Hard to say Possibly another year Maybe longer.’ 222 The Algebra of Ice ‘And how long ?’ ‘Twenty months.’ More silence ‘Your brother’s been to see you several times.’ ‘That’s good of him We weren’t close Has ’ Ethan poured himself another cup of chocolate ‘Has Ace stopped by?’ ‘Often She’s here now She’s holding your hand.’ Ethan put a hand to his eyes and sat like that for a long time At least it seemed to him a long time Finally he said, ‘Can she ’ ‘Come in? No If she could, she’d be here.’ Just as well, thought Ethan, then realised he might as well have spoken The Doctor nodded, agreeing ‘How long has it been for the two of you?’ ‘I’m not precisely certain Longer than twenty months.’ ‘Had plenty of jolly adventures?’ ‘No,’ said the Doctor ‘Interesting, though This last one, I visited your moon Also my own mind.’ ‘How’d you like it?’ ‘It wasn’t as nice as yours.’ I dare say not, thought Ethan, then remembered that thinking was talking But the Doctor only smiled sadly ‘You’d think after six previous lifetimes, I’d be better at ’ ‘What?’ ‘I don’t know Life I wish ’ Suddenly the Doctor’s umbrella was there, and he rested his chin on it ‘Sometimes I wish I could have my memory wiped clean Start fresh I was very idealistic in the beginning, and often amusing You’d have liked me.’ ‘I don’t dislike you It’s difficult to have any attitude towards you, really You’re unknowable How is Ace?’ ‘I will always take care of Ace,’ the Doctor snapped ‘Always She doesn’t need protecting from me.’ ‘Of course she does We all You bring the storm on your back.’ ‘Not always.’ ‘Always You’re like any force, sometimes benevolent, sometimes not You destroy worlds I was there.’ ‘They were as good as dead already.’ ‘You don’t have to defend yourself to me I’m alive because they’re not So are billions of others.’ Chapter Twenty-eight 223 ‘I’m not ’ But the Doctor didn’t finish Ethan couldn’t hear his thoughts, but they weren’t hard to read ‘It recognised me, you know.’ ‘Knew you were the Doctor?’ ‘Knew me for one of it’s own Sensed the ice in my heart, hearts I don’t think ice was always there Perhaps I’m fooling myself.’ ‘Ace said there was nothing to bringing you back, that as soon as she found you everything was fine Is that true?’ ‘No.’ ‘How did she save you?’ ‘How?’ The Doctor smiled ‘She was alive.’ ‘I’m sorry?’ said Ethan ‘You weren’t dead Were you?’ ‘No But she She’s strong.’ ‘I’m not following this,’ said Ethan, a shade irritably ‘You’re not strong? All you is bang around facing danger Monsters, aliens, monstrous aliens.’ The Doctor said nothing for a while, then he sighed ‘You know, a playwright of yours, Anton Chekhov, once said something along the lines of, “Any fool can handle a crisis, what takes strength is the ordinary day-to-day problems.” I don’t have any ordinary day-to-day problems No family to take care of, no job to perform No small futile tasks I made sure I wouldn’t have them I travel from crisis to crisis I drop in, I brilliantly fix things, and then I’m gone I don’t even clean up after myself What happens to them, all those beings I’ve saved and left behind? Not my problem.’ Ethan thought about his beautiful numbers Clean as bone No messy, leaking, aging, hurting, dying flesh Yes, he thought matter-of-factly, it’s true He’d sensed it all that time ago, when he heard Unwin rant against life, and now he saw it whole He’d always been afraid In his own way, he’d hated life Just like poor Molecross chasing after the wondrous Just like Unwin with his numbers, and Brett with his annihilating savagery And like the Doctor as well None of them could face the world The only one of them truly alive was Ace ‘Yes,’ said the Doctor ‘Without her, what would I be? What would I become?’ After a time, Ethan said, ‘Well, I didn’t want a life, and I didn’t get one.’ The Doctor lowered his eyes ‘I’m sorry,’ he said ‘I’m terribly sorry.’ ‘It’s not down to you I was going to die anyway You’d sussed that, hadn’t you?’ ‘It was a reasonable presumption Hallucinations, headaches and a shift in the eye’s processing speed can all be linked to a tumour; three of them in one place almost guaranteed it And then when the alien fled you, that more or less proved the case You were too damaged to provide a home.’ 224 The Algebra of Ice ‘Ah,’ said Ethan ‘I’d wondered about that So I was going to die, but not soon enough to thwart Brett.’ ‘Not nearly soon enough.’ ‘Still, you were only planning to lop off a few years.’ ‘That doesn’t matter,’ said the Doctor flatly ‘I’m not surprised you’ve never forgiven me.’ Ethan considered this ‘I haven’t, have I?’ ‘No And don’t waste what time you have left trying.’ ‘It doesn’t work like that People always talk about forgiveness as if it’s an act of will But it either happens or it doesn’t.’ ‘You’re right, of course.’ ‘I know you believed it was for the best.’ The Doctor snorted ‘In the event, your death would have been a disaster The TARDIS would even now be fuelling the destruction of the cosmos I was so certain I knew what to do, so willing to sacrifice moral duty to the greater need But I’d have both murdered you and defeated my purpose A fine achievement.’ ‘But at the end of the day, you must always have to guess An informed guess, but still ’ ‘Yes,’ said the Doctor wearily ‘I make terrible choices, and I can’t be sure of the ends It’s the road I’ve chosen.’ ‘Perhaps you should have stayed home.’ The Doctor had removed his hat and was rotating it in his hands ‘You may be right I hope not It’s too late now.’ ‘You poor sod,’ said Ethan quietly, ‘I don’t envy your life.’ And he realised that at some unnoticed point in just the past few minutes, he had forgiven the Doctor ‘What about some cake?’ ‘Yes, thank you.’ A plate of cakes appeared They munched on these for a while ‘You gave me the best part of my life, you and Ace.’ ‘That’s kind of you to say,’ the Doctor murmured ‘And in the case of Ace, undoubtedly true I would like to give you something, though That’s why I came.’ ‘I had wondered.’ ‘I’d thought about it for a while, trying to work out what I could If anything I wanted to I know you say it’s not bad for you, and I believe you I believe you have peace But I want to give you joy.’ Chapter Twenty-eight 225 ‘You really are an arrogant bastard,’ said Ethan, almost admiringly ‘Give me joy? Now? In my condition?’ ‘Of course now and in your condition,’ the Doctor said impatiently ‘It would hardly you much good otherwise.’ He stood up ‘Come with me,’ he ordered, striding away Ethan grabbed the last cake before following They walked in nothing Actually, Ethan reminded himself, they weren’t walking at all This was the Doctor’s willed dream A door appeared and the Doctor opened it and stepped through ‘Come along,’ he said, when Ethan hesitated ‘Why we even need a door?’ ‘We don’t But I wanted a proper set-up.’ The Doctor plucked Ethan’s sleeve and brought him over the threshold He found himself on a promontory overlooking a cloud-filled valley ‘Set-up for what?’ Like a conjuror, the Doctor swept his umbrella over the clouds They fled in mist, and below him Ethan saw a landscape of peaks and valleys, not of earth and rock but of lines and curves, a graphed world of numbers ‘Follow it Wander Explore I give it to you.’ ‘What is it?’ Ethan whispered, his heart, his real heart, rising He turned and looked into the alien, sky blue eyes Fly into them Fly free Fly forever ‘Something no other human being will see for hundreds of years.’ The Doctor clasped Ethan’s shoulder, and his cold little hand felt warm ‘The proof of the Riemann hypothesis.’ ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Thanks to: Todd Bethel, for listening, technical support and the suggestion – unfortunately not usable – that the aliens are defeated because they can only manifest in our reality as ducks Joe Adams, for his advice on music and maths Rita Kempley, for an extremely helpful suggestion Ed Schneider, for technical support Hans Christian Andersen And, finally, the authors of the New Adventures ABOUT THE AUTHOR Lloyd Rose is the pen name of Sarah Tonyn, who lives with her sisters in the quaint village of Adverse Camber Her solicitors are Hinchcliffe, Holmes and Baker ... a reality right next to zero This adventure features the Seventh Doctor and Ace THE ALGEBRA OF ICE LLOYD ROSE DOCTOR WHO: THE ALGEBRA OF ICE Commissioning Editor: Ben Dunn Creative Consultant:... dweller among men And the hue of the skin of the figure was of the perfect whiteness of the snow Something out of a right nightmare, she thought, and sure enough, she dreamed about the figure, but... turned on the computer to check his email It was all from the office When he had deleted most of it and stood up to go to the kitchen, the man was still there, hands folded on the red handle of an